Tasmania's wine grapes in high demand with bumper season expected to ease supply issues

ABC NEWS (Australia)

You'll often find them on the finest menus across Australia. Tasmania's wine is in high demand, and its wine grapes are fetching top dollars. For the island state's industry, it's a good problem, and this year's bumper season might just resolve it.

Transcript

00:00Tasmania's wine industry is cashing in on Australia's love affair with whites.

00:08Consumers are drinking less, but they're paying more for what they drink.

00:13And white Tasmanian wine fits the bill.

00:16We're certainly seeing a move towards whites and sparkling wines, as well as red wines

00:21like Pinot Noir, so lighter red wines such as we grow and produce here in Tasmania.

00:27A good season with record-breaking vintage yields and record-breaking grape prices means

00:33Tassie Vineyards might be able to fill unmet demand.

00:37And with grapes fetching over $4,000 a tonne, that's a good payday.

00:42To have a vintage like 2024 where we've got great quality, but then good quantity at the

00:48same time is a punch-the-air moment, I think, for Tasmanian winemakers.

00:53What is it about Tasmania's grapes that makes them so popular?

00:58The fruit always has plenty of flavour, but nice bright acid, which is really the Tasmanian

01:02trademark.

01:03It's those flavours that have some bubble drinkers buying local, rather than costly

01:09French champagne imports.

01:12Why would you buy something from France when you know you can get something from Tasmania

01:16that's of equal, if not better, quality?

01:19This growing preference is filtering overseas as well.

01:23Local House of Arras winemaker Ed Carr has been named Sparkling Winemaker of the Year

01:29at the International Wine Challenge.

01:31Tasmanian sparkling has come a long way, particularly in the last 10 or 15 years, and rightly deserves

01:38to be recognised with some of the best in the world.

01:43It's a coup at a time when Australia's wine consumption has declined by 9% in two years.

01:50With research finding consumers are concerned about their health.

01:55They're interested in high quality wine, so they're drinking less wine, but they're drinking

01:59better wine.

02:00Playing writing to the hands of Tasmanian winemakers.

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